THE first ever conference from Society of Young Publishers Scotland was a roaring success: reaching 500,000 people with more than two million impressions online in just 24 hours and doubling their Scottish membership.
There were over 150 attendees, 33 speakers and 14 sessions, with huge industry names and a diverse agenda across all aspects of publishing books, magazines and comics as well as authors, illustrators, booksellers and literary festivals represented.
The day-long event on March 18th was a success, trending on Twitter for over 16 hours.
Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, gave the keynote; speaking of his belief that books can change the world and the need for conviction and bravery in the publishing industry.
Other sessions saw Hugh Andrew, MD at Birlinn Ltd, talking about intellectual property disputes; a coding workshop from Canongate’s Cat Dean; Sha Nazir, founder of Glasgow Comic Con; Marie Moser, owner of the Edinburgh Bookshop; award-winning author, Lari Don; and more.
The closing panel saw six publishing juggernauts discussing Scotland’s Publishing Landscape.
Chaired by Marion Sinclair (CEO, Publishing Scotland), the panellists were Aly Barr (acting head of Literature, Languages and Publishing, Creative Scotland), Laura Brown (editor-in-chief of Comics, DC Thomson), Katy Lockwood-Holmes (publisher and CEO, Floris Books), Nikki Simpson (business manager, PPA Scotland) and Jenny Todd (publisher, Canongate Books).
A lively debate included discussion about print quotes, choosing between locally and abroad, taking into account not just price (the lower the price, the potential for a greater marketing budget) but also carbon footprint.
The headline sponsors were Glasgow-based printers, Bell & Bain Ltd.
Watch out for a new Print Local campaign forming to support the UK industry!
Twitter quotes:
Robbie Guillory: “Had a great time yesterday at #SYP2020 – such great passion and eagerness and it was utterly inspiring. Thank you @SYPScotland!”
https://twitter.com/robbieguillory/status/711103298661720065
Jason O’Neill: “Great day out at @SYPScotland #SYP2020 conf, genuinely excited & optimistic about a future in publishing. Lots of great speakers too!”
https://twitter.com/Keepa_/status/710896014836822018
Melissa Jones: “Thanks to @SYPScotland for an amazing #SYP2020 -getting into publishing often feels like an uphill battle- today is a reminder it’s worth it”
https://twitter.com/EdinburghWishes/status/710887040414564352
Stevie Marsden: “Can honestly say this is the 1st pub’g conference I’ve been to that has inspired rather than depressed! I’ve lots of new ideas…! #SYP2020”
https://twitter.com/StevieLMarsden/status/710870863902539776
Note for editors:
The Society of Young Publishers is a not-for-profit voluntary organisation, open to anyone in the publishing trade (in any capacity) – or who is hoping to be soon. It is run across the UK by five regional committees of dedicated volunteers who give up their spare time to help others take their first steps into the industry and progress within it.
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SYP contact details…
Contact: SYP Scotland
Phone: 07805659146
Email: syp.scotland.info@gmail.com
Website: https://thesyp.org.uk/
